


Standing Out

by Huntress79



Category: Black Panther (2018), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Bucky Barnes Remembers, Bucky building a life in Wakanda, Implied/Referenced Brainwashing, M/M, POV Original Character, Past Brainwashing, Past Loss of Identity (mentioned), Past Loss of Limbs (mentioned), Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Revealing the Past, for most of the story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:06:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27178978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Huntress79/pseuds/Huntress79
Summary: All his life, N’Jabu has been taught that white men only come to take away anything they have to offer. But now, in the aftermath of King T’Chaka’s death, an extraordinary white man has moved into the hut next to the lake. A man that N’Jabu finds has so much to give…
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Shuri, James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers (mentioned), James "Bucky" Barnes/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8
Collections: Shipoween 2020 - The Halloween Ship Exchange!





	Standing Out

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lionessvalenti](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lionessvalenti/gifts).



> written for Shipoween 2020 and lionessvalenti. Starts at some point after the mid-credit scene of “Civil War”, but before the mid-credit scene from “Black Panther”. Canon divergence afterwards (aka neither “Infinity War” nor “Endgame” happen XD) The “facts” N’Jabu states about goat births are purely fictional (as I was too lazy to look it up XD) Enjoy!

*********************

King T’Chaka was dead.

Killed in a faraway country by a bomb, just like the Wakandans in Lagos.

And now, white men were coming to their country.

Sure, it were only two of them, but as their tribal elders pointed out at every opportunity, these two could easily be just the spies of a much larger army of “thieves”, intent on taking all the technologies, along with all the vibranium still locked in the depths of the mountain range.

N’Jabu listened to their speeches, but somehow, the picture they painted of the white men didn’t really fit with what both his sister N’Jada and his cousin M’Beko told him about the new arrivals.

According to them, the new king T’Challa had granted them both asylum within the Wakandan borders, though both didn’t know why exactly he would do that. And, as N’Jada added, one of them was in no state to take anything from anyone at all, given that he somehow had lost the bigger part of an arm.

Over the next few days, the initial uproar about the strangers tampered down, and N’Jabu’s life as a farmer went back to its usual ways - tending to the goats, keeping them away from the growing crops, rinse and repeat.

A simple life, yes, but N’Jabu wouldn’t want it any other way.

Or at least that’s what he thought until now.

Weeks went by, and while the crops grew into almost life-sized ears of Wakandan wheat, life got a tad more interesting in N’Jabu’s little village.

Almost every day, workers from the Golden City, along with some of the Dora Milaje, came by, turning a small patch of land near the lake into a new farm. At first, none of the villagers knew why, but then, N’Jada told them at the weekly gathering that apparently, one of the white men would settle down there.

As expected, the tribal elders were enraged about this and complained to their ancestors about the “foolish” new king.

Back at their home, N’Jada told them more about the man. From what she had gathered from the other Dora Milaje, the man was American, but as of now, an international fugitive. Which was, at least in her eyes, some kind of a contradiction, cause the man she had encountered in Princess Shuri’s med lab was a gentle and kind soul, almost shy, somewhat confused (though she didn’t know why), and apparently not really used to be in the center of attention, if the way he shied away from too much fussing was anything to count for.

To say that N’Jabu was intrigued would be an understatement as they are.

He already knew that he was more interested in other men than in any woman, and while some of the older villagers gave him strange looks once this fact was out in the open, his family and the tribal elders supported him in their very own way.

Sure enough, since N’Jabu was the eldest son, his father would have loved to see him getting married to a nice woman and have a family of his own, but the current patriarch of the family also knew that these days, families could be formed in many different ways, not just the one they all knew from early on.

At long last, the construction of the hut was done, and not even a day later, a small, flying hybrid of a plane and a bicycle landed near the building.

Of course, the whole village gathered near the building as well, curious about their new neighbour.

General Okoye was the first to exit the plane, followed by two more Dora Milaje. Once she was sure it was safe, she gave a sign to whoever was still inside.

Some of the villagers couldn’t help but gasp when Princess Shuri was visible in the exit. Sure, they all knew what she looked like, but seeing her so close wasn’t a daily event for a lot of the more rural population of Wakanda.

“By Bast, she’s so beautiful,” one of the villagers whispered, awe lacing her voice. N’Jabu only could agree with her - in her long white, sleeveless dress, combined with a tight bun of braided hair, the young princess was every ounce the royal future everyone expected her to be, and an ethereal beauty on top of it.

Though in the next second, everyone’s attention was diverted to the man in question. And once again, N’Jabu couldn’t help but wonder why this man had to take refuge here in the first place.

Coming out of the plane, the man was dressed in a dark, plain wrap-around robe, the fine silver ornaments the only indicator that it was handed to him by the royal family. He kept his eyes to the ground, giving him the shy aura they all had heard about.

“King T’Challa is a fool, and a coward for just sending his sister, instead of showing up with this stranger himself,” one of the elders spoke up, and immediately, several heads turned to him, a mix of horror and surprise on their faces. The elder only shrugged. “A wise king would never let the suspected killer of his predecessor into the country, let alone taking refuge in a mostly defenseless village full of farmers.”

“And that’s not even adjacent to the truth,” General Okoye’s voice cut in, disdain and reprimand equally lacing it. “But while I’m in no position to tell you what really has transpired, I can assure you that our King is a wise man who also possesses a big, caring heart.” She turned away from them, ready to join the princess once more, but then turned back again. “Oh, and just because you hear something on the streets of the Golden City,” she fixed the elder with a glare, “it doesn’t have to be necessarily the truth.” With that, she stepped away from them, leaving them all somewhat gaping after her.

*********************

Once more, normalcy took over the daily life in the village, and with each day, Bucky, as their new neighbour wanted to be called, came out of the proverbial shell he was living in a bit more.

And truth be told, N’Jabu wasn’t the only one who liked what he saw of the new inhabitant.

After a disastrous start at goat farming (that almost ended with a drowned goat), Bucky slowly got the hang of it, mostly due to N’Jabu and another villager taking pity on him and showing him the ropes.

And while doing so, N’Jabu felt himself drawn closer and closer to the man Princess Shuri called “White Wolf” when she came to visit. It wasn’t often, but when she did, they first spent some time in his hut before taking a stroll around the area, always followed by a Dora Milaje.

A couple of days after another visit by Shuri, N’Jabu went to Bucky’s hut first thing in the morning. One of N’Jabu’s goats was about to go into labor, and since Bucky hadn’t witnessed one before, he wanted his new friend to be present for this one. Besides, this specific goat had taken a liking to Bucky, even allowing him to pet her extended belly (which not even N’Jabu was able to do).

“White Wolf?” N’Jabu called out right outside the main entrance. “You’re up?”

“What?” came the mumbled answer, and N’Jabu had to smile at hearing the sleepiness in the other man’s voice. It only had happened once or twice before, but by now, almost everyone in the village knew that their latest addition had nightmares. And some of the elders who were more open to accept Bucky in the village even started to talk about helping him with this matter with the traditional herbs they had around.

At long last, the thick curtain was pulled aside, and a sleepy pair of eyes squinted at N’Jabu.

“Where’s the fire?” Bucky grumbled, his voice thick with sleep and something else that N’Jabu couldn’t quite put a finger on it, but that was somewhat fitting for the man.

“There’s none, rest assured, but I thought that since you still have things to learn about being a good goat farmer, you should witness a goat’s birth with your own eyes.”

“Mirami, right?” Bucky asked while getting dressed.

“Yeah, she’s been in a state of unrest the whole night, which is a surefire sign for an impending birth,” N’Jabu explained, “but there’s still time. Goat births can take their sweet time, as far as I know. And all the births I’ve witnessed were quite long.”

“So,” Bucky said with a smile while appearing next to N’Jabu, “there would still time to have a coffee, right?”

“Absolutely,” N’Jabu agreed with a smile of his own. “You still have some of the milk Mother dropped off the other day?”

“Yeah,” Bucky gave back over his shoulder, already on his way back to the small kitchen area of the hut. “Though I told her, again, that she has to stop to feed me.”

“Good luck with that, my friend.”

“How’s that?”

“Mother only means well, but she can be quite overbearing by times,” N’Jabu explained with a smile. “When N’Jada is on the job, she won’t stop worrying until my dear sister walks in through the door again.”

“Sounds a lot like my mother, at least what I remember.”

“You haven’t contacted her since you’re here?” N’Jabu asked with a frown while sitting down at the wooden table near the hearth.

Bucky didn’t reply right away, only heaved a deep sigh. Guess it was time to break some of the spell, so to speak.

“It’s not that easy, pal, when you’re actually about a century old.”

“What?” The frown on N’Jabu’s face grew deeper. “How can that be possible, my friend? You don’t look older than my cousin M’Beko, and he’s barely 30 years old.”

“Thanks, but it’s the cold hard truth.” Heaving another sigh, Bucky grabbed the two cups he was working on and carried them over to table with one hand. He handed one to N’Jabu before sitting down opposite the other man.

“But… how?”

“Some of the details are a bit fuzzy, but I try to explain it the best I can,” Bucky replied, which prompted N’Jabu to give him an encouraging smile.

“I… I was born in 1917, in Brooklyn, New York, USA. In 1943, I was drafted into the US Army, and went to Europe to fight in World War 2.” Bucky took a sip of his coffee before continuing. “My best friend Steve, the tall blonde guy you saw the other day here,” another nod from N’Jabu, “he joined me later, looking a bit different than what I knew, and together, we fought the Nazi leaders, along with some of the men I was imprisoned with.”

“You were in prison? During the war?”

“Yeah, my unit was captured, and brought to a facility of the enemy, where we were forced to work for them, always threatened with severe punishment.”

“So you were practically a slave to them?”

Bucky thought for a minute, and damn, his friend was right. They all were, practically, enslaved by Zola and Schmidt, only that the US Army slapped the label “prisoner of war” over it.

“Yeah, something like that. Anyway, Steve, the other guys and me, we were trying to capture one of their head scientists somewhere in the mountains when something went wrong and I fell down into a ravine.”

“Your friend didn’t go back for you?”

“No, though I know now that he wanted to. But we were already behind enemy’s lines, so going back for one man might have brought a completely different outcome for the whole unit. Besides, Steve, and with him everyone else, never considered me surviving the fall in the first place.”

For some moments, silence reigned over the interior of the hut, only the sounds of the nature around them waking up to another day were heard.

Bucky’s nerves were strained to the max, hoping against hope that N’Jabu wouldn’t abandon him after this reveal.

“Was that when you lost your arm?” the Wakandan finally asked.

“Yeah,” Bucky replied on a shaky breath. “If not for the immediate pain until the surgery here at the palace, I actually have to thank Tony one day for ‘bombing’ the old prosthetic away.”

“Bombing?”

“Yeah, we were in the middle of a fight against him, and he thought he could slow Steve down by disabling me, or at least that’s what I remember. But it actually just unleashed the dark side in Steve.”

“But you don’t have a prosthetic now, do you?” N’Jabu asked, the initial mix of fear and incredulity slowly making way to curiosity.

“No, though Shuri already has designed a new one.”

“Then why don’t you use it, my friend? It would make working on the farm that much easier.”

“I… I don’t want to end up in Shuri’s lab on a regular basis to get the dirt and the grass cleaned out. Besides, I don’t think that I already deserve that shiny new arm.”

“Why? From what I see, you’re a decent, hard-working man,” N’Jabu threw in.

“Yeah, but I have a really big chip on my shoulder.” Bucky heaved another sigh, and for a heartbeat or two, he could hear the voice of his mother Winifred, telling him to ‘get it all out’.

Okay, N’Jabu, what I’m going to tell you now is quite disturbing, even to me, so I totally get it if you don’t want to hear all of it. Feel free to get out of here at any point, I won’t hold it against you.”

“Okay, White Wolf, but you should know me better by now. I’m not that easily to deter, after all.”

“Stubborn like a goat, huh?”

“Yup,” N’Jabu agreed.

“Okay, here goes nothing. After I fell from the train, I was, once more, captured, this time by what I know now were Russian partisans, soldiers that had splintered from their army to follow their own moral code and goals. And somehow, I ended up with the same doctor that had tortured me back in that facility and that we were about to capture on that train.” Bucky took a steadying breath, and all of a sudden, he felt N’Jabu covering his hand with one of his own. A small gesture, but somehow, it gave Bucky the strength to continue.

“Most of what comes now I actually can’t remember. Sometimes I think it’s probably for the best, and sometimes, especially when my mind goes to one of its darker corners, I wish for exact the same treatment that brought my mind to that point to forget what I know.”

“Tell me, White Wolf. I was raised to believe in the good of the people, and that everyone deserves a second chance. So lay your past down for me, and I won’t judge you on it.”

“They wanted to make me one of their own, a counterpart to Steve’s Captain America, maybe even better. And so, they not only gave me a metal arm, they also did brainwash me, on a very frequent basis, to the point where my brain turned into a grey, mushy something, and where my memories, everything that made me a person in my own right, was gone, locked away or lost forever.”

“And?” N’Jabu prompted, though he tried to keep his voice steady and free of even the finest trace of an accusation.

“And they succeeded. For the next 7 decades, I became the deadliest assassin known to man. When Steve and I fought Tony, I told him that I would remember every single of my victims, but I lied. I just wanted him to stop attacking us. By now, I know most of their names, thanks to the combined efforts of Steve and some of his associates, but I forget them rather quick.”

“But how did you get out of that… programming?”

“Again, it was Steve who was my savior. I was sent to Washington to eliminate someone that Steve was working with, and we somehow ended up fighting each other. Actually, we fought twice, I think, but most of it is kind of blurry. I only remember losing the mask I was wearing, and Steve looking at me, like he was seeing a ghost, and uttering ‘Bucky’.” Bucky let out a laugh, but it was a hollow sound, even to his own ears. “I didn’t react to the name, the programming was still too strong, but in the end, it was this one word that started to break down the proverbial walls.”

Bucky wanted to tell N’Jabu more about his past, but apparently, the other man had heard enough, and in the next second, Bucky watched, somewhat mesmerized, the Wakandan getting up and around the table before he sat down next to Bucky, gently grabbed his chin and planted a kiss on Bucky’s lips.

*********************

The End

*********************


End file.
